Almost 100% of people have antibodies after second Covid-19 vaccine
Latest data from the REACT 2 study, involving analysis of over 207,337 people testing themselves at home, found almost 100% tested positive for antibodies 14 or more days after their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Vaccine uptake remained high in May.
Source:
Department of Health and Social Care
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SPS commentary:
Vaccine coverage with one or more doses, weighted to the adult population in England, was 72.9%, varying with age, from 25.1% in those aged 18-24 years, to 99.2% of those aged 75 years or above. In adjusted models, there was higher coverage in the least deprived and highest income households, and the odds of vaccination were lower in men and in people of Black ethnicity.
Following two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, antibody positivity was 100% at all ages except 80 years and older (97.8%). For AstraZeneca positivity was over 90% up to age 69, and then 89.2% in 70-79 year olds and 83.6% in those aged 80 and over.
Although a high proportion of individuals in England have detectable antibodies, there remain some key groups with a lower prevalence, notably unvaccinated younger people, certain minority ethnic groups, those living in deprived areas and workers in some public facing employment. The researchers state that obtaining improved rates of vaccination in these groups is essential to achieving high levels of protection against the virus through population immunity.